Product Review: Cuisinart Party Pop Popcorn Maker

What it does: Makes super awesome fluffy fantastic popcorn, please see below:

A bowl of delishness. I add a bit of melted butter and a sprinkle of salt, natch.

OK, I admit it: I used a high-falutin' popcorn kernel. But The Husband deserves only the best.

White Cat Corn is available at Sur la Table.

Watching the kernels spin round and round provides minutes of entertainment.

Baby Evan has nothing to do with popcorn, but he is super cute, so

I thought I would share his loveliness with all y'all.

Why I love it: The popcorn produced is divine. I mean, you could go with a bag of microwaved mediocrity, but why would you when perfection can be made from this amazing piece of equipment? It is so worth the splurge if popcorn is your snacky poof of choice. Plus the popcorn maker is red, and red is my fave.

The backstory: This was a Christmas gift for The Husband, who is a huge fan of popcorn. The Jersey Girl could take or leave popcorn prior to eating popcorn made in this gadget. The popcorn coming out of this machine has cracklike qualities. Seriously.

I bought the popcorn maker while on maternity leave in an effort to get some Christmas shopping checked off my checklist before popping out a baby. Chances are the order was made during a 3 a.m. spell of insomnia/obsessing about pending baby (please see above.) After the bambino came out and I had a moment to reflect on my pregnant decision-making re: holiday shopping, I declared in a hormone/pain-killer induced haze, “Did I seriously buy a popcorn maker for The Husband? He’s going to think this is the lamest gift eva eva.” But in addition to the beer-of-the-month club subscription and authentic photo of Roy Halladay throwing a no-hitter during the Playoffs (The Husband was at the game), the Husband was all smiles about his ho ho gifts in 2010. Yay, me.

The bottom line: The Cuisinart Party Pop Popcorn Maker produces super yum yum popcorn that beats the pants off of faux microwave popcorn. Plus, it makes your house smell awesome. Plus, you can watch the kernels go pop, pop, pop, so you can amuse your 5-year-old, or 35-year-old. Gah. I’m going to be 35 in a few months. Yikes.

Anywho, The Jersey Girl household lurves our snazzy popcorn maker. Here are the deets and a link to its awesomeness.

Cuisinart Party Pop Popcorn Maker
Cost: $59.95
Where to buy it: Sur la Table
Comes with: a serving bowl, measuring cup and nifty recipe book.

Burning Down the House

The fact that The Husband and I were able to sit down and actually eat this dish is made of a miracle.

That’s because the Jersey Girl decided to cook rice without the water. Or, the rice. It’s safe to say that heating up an empty pot could in fact trigger smoke. Then a fire. For all you cooking newbies, may I advise you to NOT DO THIS.

The funny thing is as the smoke detector was blaring its piercing annoying sound (just after we got Baby Evan to doze off for a bit. Irony, yes.), the Jersey Girl stood before the offending empty burning saucepan saying aloud to The Husband, “I wonder why the alarm is going off?!?!”

Because you’re an idiot, Captain Obvious.

You know, I could see how a person who uses the kitchen as a shoe closet, or orders takeout seven days a week or is mentally unstable could make this party foul. But, peeps, as I tell Baby Evan every day – the kitchen is my office.

Fortunately, the evening had a they-all-lived-happily-ever-after ending. And, Team Jersey Girl was able to enjoy din din with a glass of wine and without the house going down in flames. Yay!

The reason for my absentminded/idiotness was that I was preparing this meal the day before going back to work after a two-month maternity leave. And well, I was wiggin’ on the inside. And the outside. I don’t know why. I blame hormones. Because it’s not like I have a job that invokes dread, hardship or horror on my part. Actually, all I feel is love for my occupation of piano teacher. Sure, I hear a lot of wrong notes, but my work is all about music and inspiration and passion. How can you loathe those things?

I suppose my fear of the First Day of Work was brought on by the realization that my days and nights would no longer be spent solely staring at my little boy and watching trash TV. But a little less Camille Grammer and Snookie is really a good thing. And I definitely was worrying if the Jersey Girl could truly do it all – take care of a baby, teach piano, clean the house, cook, blog, organize, eat, breathe, sleep, shower.

The first week was a success, and a bit of a whirlwind. It also has prompted a newfound appreciation for mommas who are single or have a real job or have a commute that is more than five steps down a hallway or don’t live near grandmas and aunts who want to spend every waking moment with a newborn bambino.

Anyhoo, my last day as a Stay-At-Home Baby Momma went out with a bang and a yum yum dish by Giada called Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce. Saffron is known as the spice that costs the most dollas dollas in the whole entire land. So, I could understand if you don’t want to make this. But, all the other ingredients are el cheapo, so I encourage you, dear readers, to go for the splurge. I bought my saffron at Sur la Table.

The dish is very subtle and smooth. I think it would be nice to serve to picky eater people because the flavor is not overpowering at all.

I served the chicken with some basmati rice (previously mentioned) and a fabu salad.

Done and done.

Chicken Scallopine with Saffron Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound chicken cutlets (scallopine)
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to serving plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Turn the heat to medium, add the shallot and the garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated.

Add the chicken broth and saffron threads, bring to a simmer and reduce for 10 minutes. Add the cream, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and simmer for 1 minute to blend the flavors. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnips

I usually rock out butternut squash more frequently, but the whole popping-out-a-baby situation has hindered my butternut squash cooking frequency this fall/winter. I guess you could say butternut squash is one of those high-maintenance types of veg with its seeding and skin-peeling requirements.

Nonetheless, I came up with this dish in time for New Year’s Day. I threw in some parsnips for good measure in an effort to shake things up. Whoa. Getting wild and crazy there, Susan.

Parsnips resemble carrots but in a lighter hue. They’re very neutral looking, actually. You peel them just like carrots, too.

The ingredient that makes these veggies stand out is the fresh sage. You don’t need a ton of sage. In fact, I snipped in just five leaves upon taking my baking sheet out of the oven. Add the sage while the squash and parsnips are still hot because the heat mellows out the sage flavor, which can be strong.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnips
Makes 4-6 servings

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into ¾-inch dice
3-4 parsnips, chopped
4-5 fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 to 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a large baking sheet, toss squash and parsnips with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables out on baking sheet in one layer. Roast in hot oven for 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven. Toss vegetables. Return baking sheet to oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Snip sage leaves on top of vegetables with kitchen shears. Toss and place in serving dish.

This dish may be made ahead and reheated before serving.

Here's to You, Mammom

This New Year’s Day was a bit different in the Jersey Girl household. For one thing, we had our Baby Evan – a holiday first. And, The Husband and I found ourselves both off from work. It truly was a day to celebrate!

For our many years together, usually one or both of us were hard/hungover at work on Jan. 1. That’s because we are news peoples (The Husband still is; I am fortunately retired.)

Back in the day, when we both toiled all in the name of news at a daily (a newspaper that comes out each and every morn), we usually got stuck working all but two holidays. And, or course, we always vied for Christmas off. Working Christmas is made of evil. Hell, working any holiday is made of evil. Holidays are meant to be with family, not in a newsroom with no windows. And being the lovas of the Shore that we are, we usually tried for Fourth of July.

Since retiring from the world of news, I always have New Year’s Day off, but The Husband usually had to go into the office. So, my New Year’s time was spent de-Christmasfying the homefront and recovering from the previous night’s festivities.

But, this year some clear-headed cookery ensued. And The Husband made a special request: “Do you think you can make spaetzle like my grandmother?”

Sure thing, Dear Husband.

I had previously read the recipe in my tattered Betty Crocker cookbook. (I read cookbooks like novels, you see.)

And the recipe was easy enough.

The catch was I wasn’t quite sure if they would turn out like Mammom’s. That’s The Husband’s grandmother. During her day, she would make spaetzle – a German dumpling of sorts – each and every New Year’s to accompany a pork roast.

The Husband had shared his stories of making the dish as Mammom’s trusty assistant, dropping the batter into boiling hot water while breaking it into strands with a fork.

The tragedy is that The Husband does not have a recipe written down. Like most grandmothers, Mammom cooked from her head and heart rather than paper.

I had the opportunity to enjoy Mammom’s spaetzle many years ago when The Husband and I were dating. But that was only once or twice. Mammom was starting to take it easy when I met her. The reality was dementia was beginning to wreak its ugly havoc on Mammom’s beautiful soul. So, I guess you can say, I never really got to know the Real Mammom. But, I love learning about her from the stories I hear from The Husband and his Mom, Nancy.

Mammom was the sweetest lady you ever met. And, she did anything and everything for her family. These traits were passed on to her daughter, Nancy, who is my rockin’ mother-in-law.

In 2010, Mammom passed away. So, it was only fitting to kick off 2011 in her honor. As my mother-in-law always says, “Mammom is looking down on us and smiling. And she is Baby Evan’s guardian angel.”

I was a bit nervy making the spaetzle, wondering if I was going to need to bust into a bag of potatoes to get some mash on as backup. But The Husband’s family proclaimed the spaetzle were on the money.

“They’re just like Mammom’s,” my mother-in-law declared.

“Outstanding,” said my father-in-law, when I asked if they tasted right. He explained that the purpose of spaetzle is to soak up the flavor of the gravy.

I’m providing for all y’all the recipe from “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook.” But the colander method described in the book did not work for the Jersey Girl. Methinks the holes in my colander are too small, because the batter wanted no parts of fitting through the holes. I simply took a teaspoon and a fork and dripped and drabbed the batter into a pot of boiling water. That’s how Mammom did it, according to The Husband. But, it sounds like her batter was thinner than this batter. Nonetheless, the fork method worked for me.

I then fished the dumplings out of the bowling water with my trusty spider ladle:

The final product: Roast pork served with Spaetzle and Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnips.

(I will share the squash recipe later this week. Possibly today, if my bambino takes a nap.)

If you have spaetzle tips, please share in the comments!
Spaetzle
From “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook”
6 servings

2 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk or water
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine

Mix eggs, milk, flour, salt and pepper (Batter will be thick.)

Fill 4-quart Dutch oven half full with water; heat to boiling.

Press a few tablespoons of the batter at a time through colander (preferably one with large holes) into boiling water. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking.

Cook about 2-5 minutes or until spaetzle rise to surface and are tender; drain. Toss with butter.

Go On with Your Bad French Self

Confession: I made these dishes B.E. (Before Evan).

These days, everything I’ve been cooking up is tres simple. Or, I’ve already blogged about it. For instance, right now as we speak, there is a pot of Chicken and Dumplings brewing. But, I wrote about that already.

The thing that’s challenging my cookery is neither time nor screaming child. (Evan quite digs it in the kitchen, thank you very much.)

Rather, it’s my inability to get my bootie to the grocery store. I’ve been quite reluctant to take a person who is weeks old and about in the freezing cold. So, I revolve my grocery shopping excursions around those who can stay with the bambino. This wouldn’t be so tough if I had a husband who works a normal 9-5 job. But I don’t. I have a husband chained to a desk in a newsroom 24 hours a day.

So, my grocery trips require more strategery and planning than ever before. But, I promise I will have new and exciting recipes in 2011. For reals.

Today, we’re taking a look at my French Onion Soup and the Barefoot Contessa’s Goat Cheese Tart from her “Barefoot in Paris” cookbook.

First off, I loves me some French food. Truth be told, I love all different cuisines. I have to be super careful with the Asian sector of the world due to my whole food allergy thing, but I love trying out dishes from all over the place.

It’s not like either of these dishes are super fancy or unique. They’re quite standard French fare. Classic, if you will.

Sure, cutting a bazillion onions is a pain in the arse, but the effort is so worth it.

Regarding the tart: If you fear making pastry dough, please try to get over it. The more you do it, the better you become. (That’s the piano teacher in me lecturing you.)

I do recommend keeping the butter as cold as you possibly can for the tart, and be sure to fill up the tart with beans or pie weights all the way up to the top of the dish to prevent the crust from shrinking.

When rolling out dough, make sure your surface and rolling pin are well-floured. Also, turn your dough after six to eight rolls to prevent sticking and tearing.

For the Goat Cheese Tart recipe, click here. I will also list it below.

In addition, I’m sharing with you my recipe for French Onion Soup. This is the perfect time of year to rock out this soup, since the weather is all chilly willy, at least that’s how it is my neck of the woods.

Be sure your Gruyere is very cold. That makes shredding it way easier. And my tip for preventing teary eyes while cutting up a bazillion onions is to run the kitchen faucet and slice up those bad boys really really fast. Scientific, I know.

Make sure you have soup bowls that are a.o.k. for popping in the oven. If you need to purchase some, I recommend these from Sur la Table, where a major sale is under way right now.

I served these dishes with a salad.

Goat Cheese Tart
From “Barefoot in Paris”
By Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board

Kosher salt
13 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
3/4 cup chopped shallots (3 to 4 shallots)
10 1/2 ounces garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet}
1 cup heavy cream
3 extra-large eggs
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


For the crust, put the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Cut 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) of the butter into large dice, add to the bowl, and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, add the ice water all at once and process until the dough becomes crumbly. Don't overprocess. Dump the dough out on a floured board, gather it loosely into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough on a well-floured board and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable sides, rolling the pin over the top to cut off the excess dough. Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil and fit it, butter side down, into the tart pan. Fill the foil with rice or beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and foil from the tart shell, prick the bottom all over with a fork, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small pan and saute the shallots over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Place the goat cheese in the bowl of the food processor and process until crumbly. Add the cream, eggs, basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and process until blended.

Scatter the cooked shallots over the bottom of the tart shell. Pour the goat cheese mixture over the shallots to fill the shell (if the shell has shrunk, there may be leftover filling). Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is firm when shaken and the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.

French Onion Soup
Makes 6 servings

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5-6 large yellow and red onions, sliced (I like to do 4/5 yellow and 1/2 red)
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. flour
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water
3/4 cup white wine
Baguette, sliced and lightly toasted
Gruyere cheese, shredded

Melt butter and oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Once the butter bubbles, add onions. Saute for about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper and thyme. Add sugar. Cook for about 20-25 minutes. Onions should be golden and soft.

Add flour. Stir, cooking for a minute or two.

Add broth, water and wine. Bring mixture to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

To serve:

Ladle soup into ovenproof ramekins or soup bowls placed on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place a toasted baguette slice on each bowl of soup. Sprinkle with shredded Gruyere. Place under a hot broiler until cheese is bubbly and browned.

Fa La La La La

I’ve officially joined the ranks of a group of person I vowed never to become: Those who send Christmas cards of their offspring.

This phenomenon part fascinates me/part annoys me. Why do we think all of our friends and acquaintances want pictures of our little childrens and then big childrens? Are we all THAT self-absorbed?

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love receiving pics of my fab nieces and nephews and the children of close friends and family and my piano students. They always bring a smile to my face. And, I save the pics for years upon years upon years.

But doesn’t it crack you up when you get Christmas cards from people 10 times removed from your life? No? This is just my hangup?

Thank God the whole check-out-my-awesome-kid-in-reindeer-sweater motif wasn’t a trend when I was a child because if my Mom and Dad wanted to put my mug on a Christmas card, I would no doubt answer with a, “Bitch, please.” Or, at least I would have said that inside my truck driver-language filled head.

I asked my sister Monica what the age cutoff is with kiddies in Christmas cards. She had no idea. Do I mortify my son throughout his entire life or just the pre-10 years? Does this madness stop in high school? College? During post-graduate studies? Anyone? Bueller?

Meanwhile, The Husband dropped a major bombshell on me: He wants us to send out a family portrait for next’s year’s Christmas card.

Seriously.

So, here’s my hypocritical blog shot of Baby Evan decked out in Ho Ho hat. No, this is not The Christmas Card Photo, but it is from the holiday photo shoot and it came in a close second. And, well, I quite love this photo. It is so cute I can’t stand it. I did post it on my Facebook page, and now I’m sharing it with my blog peeps.

And, please do not call Child Protective Services on me due to my bambino’s nakedness: There was warm and snuggly blanket on hand to cover him up in between takes.

Love.

Yesterday, Baby Evan let his Momma get on with her Christmas baking. You know, if it wasn’t Christmas time, I would feel quite normal. It’s just that getting all the Christmasy stuff done – including sending Christmas cards – is quite overwhelming immediately after having a super cute and cuddly baby, because all I want to do is stare and hold my cute and cuddly baby.

But, Christmas baking is my most fav thing of all the holiday chores. Shopping, too. Wrapping and card sending, well, I could do without.

I’m sharing with you a recipe for Crisp Chocolate Bites. I love these for Christmas because they are covered in powdered sugar, which resembles snow in my humble opinion. Perhaps, you can tell from my photo, which pales in comparison to the shots taken by The Husband.

My rules for Christmas baking are as follows: The Christmas tree must be all aglow and Elvis’ holiday tunes must be pumping through your veins. Plus, have all your ingredients out and clean up as you go along. Oh, wait those are the cooking rules set by my seventh grade home ec teacher. (Yes, I went to school when they actually had home ec.) I explained all of this to Baby Evan, who most likely cooed or drooled in response, and then dozed off to the sounds of “Blue Christmas.”

Crisp Chocolate Bites
From Williams-Sonoma Cookies

6 Tbsp. (3 oz/90 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 oz (60 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (essence)
¾ cup (4 oz/125 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
¼ cup (3/4 oz/20 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup (2 oz/60 g) confectioners’ icing sugar

Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment (baking) paper. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over very low heat, combine the butter and chocolate. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until they are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in the granulated sugar until evenly moistened. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper. Gradually add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Shape the dough into ¾-inch (2 cm) balls and roll in the confectioners’ sugar to coat completely. place the balls about 1 ½ inches (4 cm) apart on the prepared sheets. Bake the cookies until puffed and cracked on top, about 12 minutes. They may appear underdone in the center but will turn crisp as they cool. Let cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 ½ dozen cookies.

Cozy up with a Muffin

The good news is Baby Evan lets his Momma get her groove on in the kitchen.


The bad news is Baby Evan’s Momma is often so tired she limits her cooking to really easy dishes that require few brain cells and/or energy.

This past weekend I rocked out some chocolate chip muffins. They are really loaded up with chocolate chips. And they’re super awesome. And they’re way easy.

I like mine with a cup of tea, preferably Harney and Son’s Paris Tea, which is my fav. I reviewed it here last year. It’s pricier than your standard grocery store teas, but it’s sooooooooooo worth it. So are these muffins. You could totally buy some chocolate chip muffins, but these babies take 10-15 minutes to mix up and they make your house smell all cozy and yummy.

I’m so thankful that Baby Evan let me get some baking in because whisking flour and baking soda with eggs and sugar makes the Jersey Girl very happy. As does good music and shopping. Me and The Husband were able to get out and about on Saturday, thanks to my Moms and Pops offering to babysit their grandson. We went out to din and we did some shopping, which was so liberating. Oh, J. Crew and Banana Republic, how I’ve missed you so.

Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
From “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book”

½ cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup (12 fl oz/375 ml) buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups (10 oz/315 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
¾ cup (6 oz/185 g) sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
½ tsp. salt
2 cups (12 oz/375 g) semisweet (plain) chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter flavored nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In a bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the buttermilk mixture, and beat until smooth and well mixed, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a large silicone spatula, fold in the chocolate chips just until evenly distributed. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim.

Bake the muffins until golden, dry and springy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature.